Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris

Commonly known as Capybara

Image source:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/cabybara-facts#:~:text=Commo
n%20Name%3A%20 Capybara,Group%20Name%3A%20 Herd

Where it lives: They are mainly found in Northern and Central South

America(Mainly paraguay and brazil) in wetlands, savannas, and forests

What it eats: They mainly eat aquatic plants and grass
Common characteristics: it’s known to be the largest rodent species in the world,
it has a thin spiky brown fur covering its body, and it has large black eyes.
The source for this information is:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/cabybara-facts#:~:text=Common%20Name%3A%
20 Capybara,Group%20Name%3A%20 Herd

They are currently classified as threatened and their population is around 500,000
They are currently threatened because of deforestation, habitat loss, and illegal
poaching
This is mainly caused by humans, In the article
www.rainforest-alliance.org/species/capybara/#:~:text=Threats,can%20be%20m
ade%20into%20leather. It states “Their main threat, however, is humans — they
are hunted extensively for their meat and their hide, which can be made into leather.
In some countries, the practice of farming capybaras has sprung up, relieving some
of the pressure on wild populations.”. This explains how humans threaten capybaras
by hunting them illegally for their resources. The sources used for this information:
www.rainforest-alliance.org/species/capybara/#:~:text=Threats,can%20be%20made%20into%20leather.
https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/capybara

One solution is to plant native trees and plants in the land. This will help increase
the population numbers by giving them a place to live safely. This will help
decrease our impact by giving them back their homes that were wrongfully taken
from them. It can also reverse their title of threatened by giving them a place to
live without being harmed by the outside world/humans.Another solution is by
enforcing and being more strict around the selling of animal products and keep
better watch on protected areas such as the amazon and the grasslands. This will
help increase or stop the decrease of the population by stopping illegal hunters
from killing capybaras and selling their hide and meat. This will decrease the
human impact by stopping illegal hunting and letting the capybaras live free
without harm.
Solution 1 Solution 2

The cost:You'd need around 2 The cost: it can cost over

hectares(around 4.9 acres) of land for a big
enough plot to house capybaras in a mini
$100,000 to train and hire an o cer
forest like environment. Knowing that correctly and can take over a year.
capybaras are mainly found in Brazil and To build more police stations it could
Paraguay, 2 hectares of land in Paraguay with
vary from a few hundred thousand to
good soil fertility is around $800(I was unable
to find info about brazil's cost of land) TMA’s
sometimes millions of dollars.
community reforestation program costs Sources
$3,025 to plant 300 trees in one acre (about used: https://www.policinginstitute.org/onpolicing/recruiting-selecting-and-retaini

half of a hectare). The total cost to plant the ng-law-enforcement-o cers/#:~:text=Costs%20are%20 always%20a%20
concern,take%20up%20to%20 eighteen%20 months.

trees with the amount of land needed is https://www.proudpolice.com/police-questions/how-much-does-it-cost-to-build-a-police-s

around $15,125. The total cost would be tation#google_vignette

https://brazilian.report/liveblog/2023/03/23/law-enforcement-body-cameras/

around $15,925. Sources

used:https://www.gatewaytosouthamerica-newsblog.com/%E2%98%80-south-ame
rica-land-prices-review/

https://www.tma.earth/2021/05/24/how-much-does-it-cost-to-plant-a-tree-and-why-that-m
ay-not-be-the-right-question/#:~:text=Our%20Community%20Reforestation%20Program%
20costs,to%20about%20%2410%20per%20tree.

Safety concerns: Planting trees can Safety concerns: O cers can

sometimes destroy biodiversity. They can use encounter dangers such as poachers
up/dry up water sources and can sometimes
or People illegally selling animal hide
cause the area to heat up. This can cause a
safety concern to the animals that might go
or flesh. This can be caused from trying
into that area. It could lower the amount of to intervene or stop someone; they can
water they need to drink and could cause be shot which can lead to bad injuries
them to overheat. Sources and sometimes death. It can also lead
used:https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/climate/tree-planting-reforestation-clima to people getting harmed such as
te.html
 bystanders.

Aesthetics: changing bare areas into lush Aesthetics: Forested areas would have armed
forests. o cers walking around and more federal
buildings would be built.

How does it a ect the indigenous people?: It How does it a ect the indigenous people?:It
can a ect them by giving them potentially could force the native people to lose homes
less land to build other things such as houses but could also decrease the amount of crimes
or farms. or illegal actions in that area.

Environmental impact: It could cause the Environmental impact: Building stations might
environment to heat up or could dry up increase the amount of Carbon dioxide in the
certain areas which could cause air but housing more police could decrease
desertification which isn't good for certain the amount of animals dying which could help
wetland and grassland areas in Southern and harm the environment. It could help it
America. because certain animals help plants
reproduce and grow but it could hurt because
having too much of the wrong animal could
damage the plant life around it.

They are currently classified as threatened and their population is around 500,000
They are currently threatened because of deforestation, habitat loss, and illegal
poaching
This is mainly caused by humans, In the article
www.rainforest-alliance.org/species/capybara/#:~:text=Threats,can%20be%20m
ade%20into%20leather. It states “Their main threat, however, is humans — they
are hunted extensively for their meat and their hide, which can be made into leather.
In some countries, the practice of farming capybaras has sprung up, relieving some
of the pressure on wild populations.”. This explains how humans threaten capybaras
by hunting them illegally for their resources. The sources used for this information:
www.rainforest-alliance.org/species/capybara/#:~:text=Threats,can%20be%20made%20into%20leather.
https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/capybara
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Capybara#:~:text=The%20 population%20 of%20 capybaras%20in,that%20returns%20 yellowish%2d Brown%20 underneath.